Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology
IntroductionPsychosis is in part defined by disturbances in perception. Recent investigations have implicated the speed of alpha oscillations observed in brain electrical activity as reflective of a sampling rate of the visual environment and perception. Although both slowed alpha oscillations and a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1144107/full |
| _version_ | 1797785591663820800 |
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| author | Scott R. Sponheim Scott R. Sponheim Joshua J. Stim Stephen A. Engel Victor J. Pokorny |
| author_facet | Scott R. Sponheim Scott R. Sponheim Joshua J. Stim Stephen A. Engel Victor J. Pokorny |
| author_sort | Scott R. Sponheim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionPsychosis is in part defined by disturbances in perception. Recent investigations have implicated the speed of alpha oscillations observed in brain electrical activity as reflective of a sampling rate of the visual environment and perception. Although both slowed alpha oscillations and aberrant percept formation are evident in disorders of psychotic psychopathology such as schizophrenia it is unclear whether slow alpha accounts for abnormal visual perception in these disorders.MethodsTo examine the role of the speed of alpha oscillations in perception in psychotic psychopathology we gathered resting-state magneto-encephalography data from probands with psychotic psychopathology (i.e., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder with a history of psychosis), their biological siblings, and healthy controls. We appraised visual perceptual function without the confound of cognitive ability and effort through the use of a simple binocular rivalry task.ResultsWe found a slowed pace of alpha oscillations in psychotic psychopathology that was associated with longer percept durations during binocular rivalry, consistent with the assertion that occipital alpha oscillations govern the rate of accumulation of visual information used to generate percepts. Alpha speed varied widely across individuals with psychotic psychopathology and was highly stable across several months indicating that it is likely a trait characteristic of neural function that is relevant to visual perception. Finally, a lower speed of alpha oscillation was associated with a lower IQ and greater disorder symptomatology implying that the effects of the endogenous neural oscillation on visual perception may have wider consequences for everyday functioning.DiscussionSlowed alpha oscillations in individuals with psychotic psychopathology appear to reflect altered neural functions related to percept formation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:56:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c1616c258334b319d50629fe87fafac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:56:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c1616c258334b319d50629fe87fafac2023-07-06T21:35:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-06-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.11441071144107Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathologyScott R. Sponheim0Scott R. Sponheim1Joshua J. Stim2Stephen A. Engel3Victor J. Pokorny4Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesIntroductionPsychosis is in part defined by disturbances in perception. Recent investigations have implicated the speed of alpha oscillations observed in brain electrical activity as reflective of a sampling rate of the visual environment and perception. Although both slowed alpha oscillations and aberrant percept formation are evident in disorders of psychotic psychopathology such as schizophrenia it is unclear whether slow alpha accounts for abnormal visual perception in these disorders.MethodsTo examine the role of the speed of alpha oscillations in perception in psychotic psychopathology we gathered resting-state magneto-encephalography data from probands with psychotic psychopathology (i.e., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder with a history of psychosis), their biological siblings, and healthy controls. We appraised visual perceptual function without the confound of cognitive ability and effort through the use of a simple binocular rivalry task.ResultsWe found a slowed pace of alpha oscillations in psychotic psychopathology that was associated with longer percept durations during binocular rivalry, consistent with the assertion that occipital alpha oscillations govern the rate of accumulation of visual information used to generate percepts. Alpha speed varied widely across individuals with psychotic psychopathology and was highly stable across several months indicating that it is likely a trait characteristic of neural function that is relevant to visual perception. Finally, a lower speed of alpha oscillation was associated with a lower IQ and greater disorder symptomatology implying that the effects of the endogenous neural oscillation on visual perception may have wider consequences for everyday functioning.DiscussionSlowed alpha oscillations in individuals with psychotic psychopathology appear to reflect altered neural functions related to percept formation.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1144107/fullalpha rhythmoscillationpsychosisschizophreniabinocular rivalrycognition |
| spellingShingle | Scott R. Sponheim Scott R. Sponheim Joshua J. Stim Stephen A. Engel Victor J. Pokorny Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology Frontiers in Psychology alpha rhythm oscillation psychosis schizophrenia binocular rivalry cognition |
| title | Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology |
| title_full | Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology |
| title_fullStr | Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology |
| title_short | Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology |
| title_sort | slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology |
| topic | alpha rhythm oscillation psychosis schizophrenia binocular rivalry cognition |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1144107/full |
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